Workplace: covers the issues and activities of managing the moments of our day-to-day business lives. Five of my books speak to daily business skills. Together, let’s explore what affects us every day (or some days) that we go to work.
Enrichment learning to support work achievements and enlarge employee experiences was the presentation four of us gave at last week’s Association for Talent Development chapter meeting in Meridian, Idaho.
Amber Nelson and Angela Atha spoke to the use of Lunch & Learn experiences. Successful Lunch & Learn events are opt-in rather than mandatory. A mandatory meeting needs to happen during the paid-hours of a workday. Lunch & Learn topics are easily covered in an hour or provide a topic introduction in an hour. Topics can include: best practices, product knowledge sharing, earnings report sharing, industry highlights or trends, personal development or life skills, and motivational speakers. Toastmasters chapters sometimes meet at company locations as a Lunch & Learn, or even as a mastermind. Rather than a lunch-hour, some organizations hold these events right after work or overlapping a shift change so that more people can participate.
Lara Perkins shared how book clubs can provide enrichment learning at work. When you have a limited budget, a book club can provide industry knowledge, trends, specific skill-based information, or even a way to jump-start conversations about books not related to work. Book clubs can be held, during the workday, during a monthly lunch, or after work on a quarterly basis – or any combination thereof. Get team and company leaders involved so that employees see the value of participation. Some leaders have provided the book, asked people to read a chapter a week and then discussed the chapter at the weekly team meeting.
I shared how mastermind groups work well for people at a similar time in their career, or in similar positions within a company, or holding the same titles in different companies. The purpose of a mastermind is to gather people over time to learn, share ideas and insights, and to offer ideas for specific challenges presented by group members. Once a group is formed, keep the membership the same so that the early trust-building remains and the benefits of being in a group grow. Hold the mastermind on a monthly or quarterly basis. Some groups prefer going off-site so that focus is on the gathering. Guide the group dynamic and be prepared for a change of topic and discussion direction based on the needs of the group.
Whichever combination of training and enrichment learning opportunities you provide to your teams, be sure that performance goals are addressed and that the time invested adds value to employees.
If you would like a copy of the presentation we gave at the March 14, 2019 Association for Talent Development meeting, please email: jana@janakemp.com with ATD Presentation in the subject line. Thank you.